UB Today

Campus center challenges leadership potential

Budding leaders at UB now have a place they can call home, as they hone life skills and develop a presence of mind so important to those who will influence, persuade and take charge in the future.

Located on the second floor of the Student Union, the Leadership Development Center (LDC) presents a welcoming environment with comfy chairs and a well-stocked library of leadership training books, DVDs and other media. Established nearly 10 years ago, LDC is now headed by Amy Wilson, a former student leader at Colorado State University who arrived on campus in August 2006 with expertise in—and enthusiasm for—campus leadership development.

“Leadership development, education and training are increasingly important for a number of reasons,” says Wilson, who earned an undergraduate degree in human development and family studies from Colorado State and her master’s in college student personnel from Western Illinois University. “On a personal level, learning about themselves and about others—and how they interact in this world—will help students to be more successful in everyday relationships. It will also help them develop an awareness of themselves and their passions.”

At the LDC, students are encouraged to cultivate their leadership potential through involvement in clubs, organizations, athletic teams and other campus endeavors. Complementing the instructional materials and course work is “Leadership House,” a first-year community in which students live on one floor of Governors Residence Hall and jointly take an introductory course, “Dynamics of Leadership.” About 30 UB students were residents of Leadership House this past semester; Wilson hopes to expand this and other LDC initiatives to eventually offer continuous programming over the four years of undergraduate study.

The center also helps students record their out-of-class activities on an official student activities transcript. This document enumerates a student’s leadership activities, paraprofessional work, community, campus and professional involvement, as well as the various honors and forms of recognition that might otherwise go unnoticed or unrecorded. Nearly 1,000 UB students are now making use of the specialized transcript. In addition to being a resume-enhancer, the activity transcript “gets students to reflect on their campus activities,” Wilson observes.

“On a professional level,” she adds, “we know that leadership ability is the number one quality that employers are looking for in graduates today. To be able to demonstrate experience working in teams, ability to communicate effectively and the ability to take initiative and make a commitment within a community are important skills for working in most, if not all, environments.”

According to Wilson, a commitment to community service enhances LDC coaching in such traditional personal growth areas as public speaking, goal-setting, time management and conflict resolution. “We are responsible for providing opportunities for students to get engaged in the community, both on- and off-campus,” Wilson explains. “Leaders are those who demonstrate the desire and the initiative to make a positive change in whatever community they belong. Our aim is to show how community service and leadership are intertwined in a student’s life,” she says.

“During my freshman year, I enrolled in UBE110 Introduction to Leadership,” says Allison Goldstein, a leadership peer educator whose academic major is undecided. “Throughout the semester, my instructor pushed me to try my hardest no matter what, and taught me more than I could ever imagine about leadership—and more importantly, about myself.”

To carry out its community service mission, the LDC serves as a liaison and resource for UB students who are looking to perform community service; it also connects them with community and social service agencies. “We plan small initiatives such as ‘Saturdays of Service’ and ‘Crafts for a Cause,’ in which students make holiday stockings for children and senior citizens,” says Wilson. “We also help coordinate UB Pride and Service Day, a campus-wide spring clean-up initiative in preparation for commencement.” In addition to three credit-bearing courses, the center offers the long-established Life and Learning Workshops on such topics as club officer transition and ethical considerations in leadership.

“While working at the LDC, I have been exposed to many events and other opportunities that the LDC has made available to students,” says Martin Smallidge, a biotechnology major and LDC student assistant. “So far, I have participated in the Linda Yalem Run and Walk, ‘October Surprise’ storm clean-up, and the S.O.U.L. (Students in Organizations Understanding Leadership) program.” The latter offers the Certified Student Leader certificate for qualifying students. Currently, Smallidge is also involved with the LDC’s Emerging Leadership Forum. As part of this particular initiative, students will take part in a February 25 conference that will feature a keynote address by Tony D’Angelo of College EmPowerment, a firm that offers student seminars and other services at colleges and universities throughout North America.

UB alumni who are community leaders in Western New York are invited to participate in the center’s REALM (Real Experience and Leadership Mentoring) program, taking place on April 12, 2007. This event will pair UB students with community leaders to demonstrate how leadership is practiced in everyday settings. Interested alumni are asked to e-mail leadub@buffalo.edu.

—Ann Whitcher-Gentzke

For more information on the Leadership Development Center, visit www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/osd/leadership